Over the years, numerous types, sizes, and styles of devices designed to assist one in carrying articles such as backpacks, vests, and other devices to be worn by an individual have been made or proposed for conveniently carrying and storing various articles such as clothing, books, camping gear, hunting gear, sports gear, baby items, or the like. For example, a typical backpack (also referred to as a rucksack, knapsack, packsack, pack or Bergen) consists of a sack with two straps, whereby one strap loops over each shoulder of the wearer. Backpacks have been particularly useful in carrying and storing various articles because they free the hands of the wearer for other activities. Backpacks have become increasingly popular over the years, especially for travel and recreational activities. When a backpack is worn, the wearer can carry a heavy load without putting undue burden on their arms, thus freeing their hands for other tasks. However, wearers have always had to deal with the inconvenience of removing the carrying device when they seek to gain access to articles stored within the sack.
It has become common for travelers to utilize a backpack, wherein personal belongings may be carried on one's back in a cloth sack that is slung over one's shoulders by means of shoulder straps. However, the inconvenience of a backpack type sack is that its wearer is denied access to personal papers such as tickets, passports, or travelers checks while the backpack is being worn. Some carrying device designers have attempted to minimize this problem by attaching smaller pockets to the front straps of the backpack. However, since the size of the pocket is limited to the size of the strap to which it is attached and to the size of the wearer's chest, this solution provides easy access to only a limited amount of space. Consequently, there is a need for a larger pouch that can be easily accessed from the front of the body. Experienced travelers using backpacks have resorted to a simpler measure, such as carrying a daypack to accompany the backpack. This daypack, which is smaller than the backpack and which includes its own shoulder straps, is slung over one's shoulder in a reverse manner so that the daypack rides against the chest of the wearer while the backpack rides against the back. The daypack allows the traveler to access personal papers being carried therein, such as tickets, passports, money, or the like. U.S. Pat. No. 5,799,851 discloses a combination daypack and backpack that has a detachable daypack that may be worn on the front of the user in conjunction with a larger conventional backpack. The daypack is directly affixed to D-rings mounted on the shoulder straps of the backpack and positioned adjacent to the user's chest. However, this combination daypack and backpack is only suitable for use with a particular backpack having D-rings located in a specific position on its shoulder straps. It is well known that individuals often own numerous backpacks suitable for various needs such as travel or sports activities, but the above patent does not allow for versatility in using various backpacks that one may own as it limits use just to the particular backpack having D-rings on its shoulder straps.
Backpacks are particularly convenient for a wide range of activities such as fishing, walking, hiking, climbing, biking, camping, skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, mountaineering, rock-climbing, hunting, and the like because they free the hands of the user and transfer the load away from the wearer's hands, which can be easily fatigued if one were to hand carry articles. Conventional backpacks are typically designed to be worn with the carrying sack on the user's back. Therefore, to gain access to articles contained in the pack, the user must first remove the pack, creating a number of inconveniences for almost any type of activity. Once the pack is removed, at least one hand is required to hold it, leaving only the other hand to open or unzip the pack, access the desired article contained therein, and then juggle the article while zipping or buckling the pack cover in place. Alternatively, the pack may be placed on a stable surface, such as a table or the ground, to free up a hand to retrieve the article contained within. Should the article be needed in a hurry, such as in the case of an emergency, the time taken removing, holding, unzipping, and accessing could prove to be a detriment. Therefore, numerous vests designed for carrying articles in a front loaded pack where the articles can be accessed without requiring the wearer to remove the pack have been introduced.
Fisherman, hunters, backpackers, hikers, soldiers, construction workers and loggers are in the outdoors a considerable amount of the time. Often, there is a need for a garment for carrying and accessing items immediately, and a vest proves to be a suitable, handy, and expedient solution. For example, a fisherman may want fish hooks, a fish line, dry socks, a knife, matches, a compass and some food. More particularly, a person who engages in fly-fishing may wear a front utility vest that includes a wool patch where fishing hooks may be attached, as well as several pockets for carrying fishing equipment. To provide such flexibility, it would be desirable to have a utility vest that could easily be worn with a backpack or without the backpack. Other instances where one may require the use of a front vest include: a hunter who may want easy access to ammunition, a knife, matches, dry socks, a compass, or food; a hiker who may want food, large blankets, alternative rain gear, matches, a compass, or a knife; a soldier who may want a knife, ammunition, hand grenades, matches, food, a compass, dry clothing, and maybe a mobile communication device; and a construction worker who may want a garment having facilities for carrying tools. Unfortunately, the use of a vest often requires the user to purchase a backpack in order to get the vest. Additionally, some vests may be sold separately but are not compatible with any backpack because they do not attach to the shoulder harness thereof. Thus, the user runs the risk of purchasing a vest that may not be connectable to any of the backpacks one already owns.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,337,934 and 5,657,917 attempted to address these issues by providing a carrying device having pouches that can be flipped from a stowed position on a backpack over the wearer's shoulders to a position on the front of the wearer. In the above patents, the pouch is retained in the rear position by hook-and-loop material. While the aforementioned patents disclose a device that does allow the user to access some of the contents of the backpack without removing the pack, the hook-and-loop material has two noticeable deficiencies: 1) it is inadequate for retaining the pouches in their stowed position during physical activity, and 2) it is inadequate for retaining larger compartments capable of holding bulky or heavy articles. Because release of the hook-and-loop material is facilitated by loading the opposing sections in opposite directions to affect separation, a hook-and-loop fastener is susceptible to unwanted release due to dynamic shifting that naturally occurs during typical wearer's activity. Therefore, the aforementioned devices are not suitable when the wearer is engaged in physical activity, and especially when the wearer needs to have ease of access to a large compartment carrying much or all of the backpack's contents.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,639,005 also attempted to address the numerous disadvantages disclosed. The above patent describes a modular backpack and utility vest system wherein the backpack and the utility vest may each be used independently or together as a unit. The front portion of the utility vest further includes a pair of buckles at the top of the vest near the shoulders of a wearer and a buckle on either side of the vest near the waist of a wearer. A backpack designed specifically for use with the front portion of the utility vest has complementary buckles on the tops of the shoulder straps into which the top buckles on the utility vest front portion can be attached. The backpack further includes complementary buckles on the lower sides of the backpack for attaching the side buckles on the utility vest front portion. Although this patent addresses some of the needs discussed, it requires the user to purchase an entirely new set of a backpack and vest combination. This can be quite expensive considering that the user is most likely to already have several backpacks in his/her collection. Thus, what is lacking in the art is a modular vest that can be easily and securely attached to almost any existing backpack.
Thus, what is needed in the art is a modular vest system comprised of a harness portion and at least one frontal vest portion, whereby the modular vest system is constructed and arranged for removable engagement with an existing backpack. The modular vest should function with pre-existing backpacks and as a singular independent unit. The modular vest system should not be overly burdensome to carry, and should be operable and connectable with normal strength.